


Underneath The City Lights

by orphan_account



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: 1950's aesthetic, Alternate Universe - Burlesque Club, Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Crossdressing, F/F, F/M, Homophobic Language, M/M, Prostitution, Sexual Harassment, pike is the best guy there is, spock and nyota are together and both happen to enjoy pretty dresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-01 06:42:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2763461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim Kirk is not a stripper.<br/>Neither is Leonard Mccoy.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Hit it up, get it up, gotta give me your best</em><br/><em>So get your ass up, show me how you burlesque</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jim Kirk isn't a stripper.

Well right now, _technically_ he is, but he doesn't like how it sounds.

No offense to his fellow sex workers, but he isn't fond of the term. He doesn't care to understand why, and as he trudges home and blows on his fingers to return some feeling to him, he figures he doesn't even care why. He just doesn't like the term. He's too tired to think anyway, and his shift had been...difficult today. One asshole kept grabbing him when he was off duty and Kirk had nearly punched him in the nose. He didn't though, he needed this job. This time couldn't be like the last times. He needed to keep this one. He was barely surviving as it is.

The blond man hugs his thin fleece jacket closer to him and looks down the road, the route he usually takes to get to his crappy, tiny apartment every night, and takes in the huge amount of snow that had piled up at the crosswalk, effectively blocking the path.

 _'Fucking perfect.'_ he thinks. Now he'll have to find another route home. In -5 degree weather.

Awesome.

"Shit." he grumbles, heat escaping as white smoke from his mouth. He shivers and looks around, until he decides to just turn right and go around the offending blockade. The street is dim, but he hears a steady rhythm of music, and he doesn't know where it's coming from until he almost walks by the front of a small club with welcoming neon lights in the window. The club is slightly hidden, at the bottom of some steps that lead to a lower part of the sidewalk, and Jim knows he would have missed it had it been a little lighter outside and the lights weren't the only ones shining on the dark city block. He shivers and--curiosity getting the best of him--he inches down the steps and to the window, peering inside.

His breath hitches in his throat.

It's a big club, the front of it doing no justice to the inside. Jim sees plush red chairs and men dressed in elegant pinstripe suits, shining glasses half full with brandy in their hands and soft lighting illuminating the room in a warm and delicious glow. Women wearing furs and taking drags on cigarettes are milling around and laughing with each other.

His breath nearly stops when he sees one of the dancers. She has brown skin and long dark hair, tied into an elegant bun and she stands tall and relaxed. She's gorgeous, with large dark eyes, and a sly smile, but it's her outfit that makes Jim eyes go wide.

Because she's not dressed in go-go boots or a thong.

She's dressed in a beautiful dark red corset with a soft looking feather lining at the bottom, a pair of ruby red heels, dark fishnets, a whimsical feather placed in her hair and elbow length ruby gloves. And the thing that Jim notices the most is...she looks happy. 

He doesn't know what to make of it, but he knows he wants to be inside.

He doesn't look like he belongs there, he knows he doesn't. His face is bruised from a fight from the other night and his jeans are worn an his jacket is old, but he can't help it. This place looks warm, and safe, and entertaining.

He has to be inside. 

So with one look at the sign, the blond man opens the door and slips inside.

It feels better in here than he imagined, he finds out, the warmth seeping into his bones as soft jazz music plays and wafts around him. He looks around, and tries to make himself as small as possible.

The place is huge, and tinted in soft oranges and reds. He spots a large black piano on one end of the room and a white one across from it, a large bar with plushy red stools that take up the entire right side of the club, and an obscenely large stage in the middle. The walls are maroon and velvety looking, and hold several vintage records and posters from old movies, both human and alien. The floors are carpeted in some areas and cherry wood in others.

The stage has several spotlights, and two wings leading to the back, implying that the club is even bigger than Jim thought. The stage has spotlights and there are expensive looking curtains billowing down and giving it an elegant look. There are black and gold, dainty looking tables with plush red chairs that seat the pinstriped suited men and the women in their long, sparkling, slitted gowns with their feather boas wrapped around their shoulders. They all so elegant and put together. Beautiful and happy.

He swallows nervously and shifts. He doesn't belong here.

But he can't bring himself to leave.

The brown-skinned woman in the red corset and the shiny heels is speaking to an older man with graying hair and a handsome face and she smiles before she heads onto the stage, her heels clicking before she disappears backstage.

And that's when the lights dim.

Jim looks on as the stage lights come on while the rest of the room--the audience--are drenched in darkness, and uses the opportunity to maneuver silently through the crowd of well dressed club goers and perch on a stool at the bar for a better look. 

Soon, the stage goes black as well.

Jim hears the slight clicking of heels in the darkness, and the club goers bristle in excitement for the oncoming show, until a single spotlight comes on and shines on a green skinned woman with red hair. She's dressed in red also, like the woman Jim saw before and the club is deadly silent--excitement thick in the air--before she opens her mouth and sings.

_"Underneath the city lights_  
 _There is a world few know about_  
 _Where rules don’t apply, no_  
 _And you can’t keep a good girl down"_

Her voice is sharp but playful, and she runs her hands down her shiny corset, her sparkly nails glinting in the stage lights as the curtains behind her rise and reveal a large band.

And then the club is filled with the robust sounds of horns, trumpets, saxophones and pianos. The audience howls and hollers and the woman smiles happily as she struts across the stage, the jewels on her corset shining in the spotlight.

Jim eyes widen and he feels a smile spread over his face as the opening plays and the sounds of music swirls around him and raises his spirits.

The woman from before walks out on stage next to join the redhead and they begin to dance together, getting more shouts of appreciation from the audience as the brown skinned woman starts to sing.

_"She comes through the club looking for a good time_  
 _Gonna make that, shake that, money on a dime_  
 _Don’t need a sugga daddy, she can work it just fine_  
 _Up on the table, she’ll be dancing all night"_

She moves to the beat, dancing in perfect time with the woman next to her, and Jim catches two more people dance onto the stage. One is a pretty blond with short hair and a slightly angular face, dressed in a blue, jeweled corset and the other person is.....a curly haired young man.

Jim's mind reels to a stop. _There are male dancers here too?_

He stares at the young man, and takes in his yellow corset, fishnets and heels, dancing happily with the two women next to him.

Wow.

Jim has never come across a place that seemed to treat the male dancers exactly the same as the female ones. At the club where he works, he was heckled and had terrible things spat at him all the time, but here...no is batting an eyelash at the young man dancing on the stage. 

Jim doesn't understand. This place seem like a whole different _world_. A world he wants to live in. A world with pretty outfits and warmth and music that gets into your very soul.

The dancers continue to sing through the first chorus and Jim watches on in awe, until the next verse come up and the next singer comes onto the stage.

And Jim's breathing completely stops.

The man is gorgeous. His brown hair floppy and his eyes hazel and sparkly, his corset varying shades of blue and his voice light and clear with a Georgian twang to it.

_"A little bit of naughty, it's a little bit nice_  
 _There's a whole lot of glam, sweat, sugar, sex, spice_  
 _Shimmy, shimmy, strut, strut_  
 _Give a little what, what_  
 _Up on the tables we’ll be dancing all night"_

He sounds amazing and looks even better. He joins the line of perfectly choreographed steps and Jim finds he can't stop looking at him.

They are all amazing performers, and they really know what they're doing, he thinks, but most importantly, they all look _happy_ , and like they're enjoying performing as much as the audience is enjoying watching them.

Jim has never experienced that before. 

_"Hit it up, get it up, won’t let you rest_  
 _Hit it up, get it up, this is not a test_  
 _Hit it up, get it up, gotta give me your best_  
 _So get your ass up, show me how you burlesque"_

The chorus is just as energetic as the rest of the song and Jim finds himself tapping his foot to music and keeping his eye on the man in blue with the hazel eyes, admiring the lines of his body and how effortlessly he moves with the 1950-esque dance steps.

An Asian man joins them next, winking and threading his fingers together with the curly haired man's as he blushes and pulls him against him to dance, their matching yellow corsets and feathers blending together. A graceful Vulcan joins next--also in blue--,grabbing the brown skinned woman and pulling her off to dance as they finish the last chorus.

They look like they're having so much _fun_ , even the stoic faced Vulcan.

Jim can't take his eyes off the brunet man though, as he lets the rhythm guide him through the end of the performance, and with one final blare of a sax, the song is over.

The audience explodes in applause and the dancers bow hand in hand, all red faced and happy looking before they all troop backstage and the lights come back on in the club. Jim doesn't bother to move, he's frozen in his seat and he can't fully process what he just saw.

That was _amazing_.

"Great show, huh?" the blond jumps a foot in the air and scrambles off of the stool and comes face to face with the older man that the brown skinned woman in red was talking to before the show started.

"Sorry!" he blurts before he can stop himself. He knows he doesn't belong here, and he was supposed to leave before he got spotted and kicked out.

He's definitely going to be kicked out now.

"That wasn't the question, son." the man says sternly, but not in a way that makes him uncomfortable, but more like a father trying to teach a child something.

"Oh-" Jim stammers, and he can feel his face heating up, "Yes sir, it was an amazing show." He usually would rather have his nose broken that call someone _'sir'_ , but this place is so _fancy_ and upscale and he feels so insecure and out of place in his old clothes and his bruised face, that he finds himself being extra polite just so he doesn't get arrested for daring to walk into such a place, looking how he does. 

"My dancers have been planning that routine for a while. They're very proud of it." he says fondly, lighting a cigarette and taking a pull. Jim is distracted by the bright lines of his suit, white with silver pinstripes, before he blurts out his next question.

"You own this place?" Jim asks, curiosity getting the better of him and he shifts uncomfortably, still a bit uneasy.

"Yep. This-" he gestures around the beautiful building, "is mine."

Jim doesn't know what to make of that. Why is this man talking to him?

Jim tries to think of something to say but is distracted when he sees the performers come from backstage and mingle in the crowd of club goers. The Asian man and his curly haired companion are whistled at from a table of men and Jim sees them sidle over, fingers interlaced as they sit on the men's laps but still hold each others hand and blush and eye each other tenderly. They talk and laugh and Jim is transfixed until he spots the hazel eyed man walking towards them. His heart stutters.

"Pike." he says in a southern drawl, "Uhura and I-"

"Leonard," the man-Pike, Jim guesses- gives him a withering look, "I'm talking to someone."

The brunet huffs and turns to look at Jim--who looks away because really, the man is too beautiful and Jim feels like a speck of dirt--and sighs, "Hm."

Pike takes another lazy drag off his cigarette and smiles at Jim, "Sorry about that. What's your name, son?" he asks kindly.

Jim still doesn't look up, he can't-because that beautiful man in blue is still there but he manages to mumble a small, "Jim Kirk."

"Hm." Pike hums, "And what are you doing here, Jim Kirk?"

Jim's heart plummets and he knows that his stay here is nearing its end. He'll be asked to leave and he'll never get to see this amazing place again.

"I-ah," he stutters, nervous and embarrassed, "I just- I saw the lights outside and I was curious s-"

"Hm." Pike hums. Jim doesn't dare look up. "Nice to meet you, Jim Kirk." Pike says, smiling before he stalks off and the hazel eyed man--Leonard, follows him, continuing the conversation.

Jim stills and looks up in disbelief. That's not the reaction he was expecting. Not at all. He was expecting to be put outside before he could blink, but he guesses that Pike doesn't have a problem with him being here.

He resolves to stay a few more minutes, and he catches the Vulcan and the brown skinned woman sitting on the laps of one man but taking quietly to each other as their patron looks up adoringly at them, then he catches the green skinned woman and the blond woman dancing together as two other woman watch and applaud.

Everyone here is so beautiful. It's like another universe. 

The bond looks around for a few more minutes before he dejectedly heads to the door. But before he can reach it, he feels a warm, soft hand on his too-thin wrist. He turns to find Leonard standing behind him, looking at him with wide hazel eyes and holding out a card in one satin gloved hand.   


"Pike says not to go in to work tomorrow." He says, the feathers on his corset swaying as he moves, "He says to come back here at 3 pm." 

Jim freezes and look at Leonard, his eyes going wide as he takes in the fluffy brunette hair and the plush lips. His mind empties a bit before he croaks a startled, "What?"

Leonard sighs, "I ain't a fan of repeatin' myself kid," he grumbles. 

"No, sorry-" Jim stutters, "I heard you, I just-"

"Just do it, kid. Trust me. This place is better than where you're at. Or where you've been." Leonard gives him a small smirk before he flounces off in a puff of feathers and blue, his sparkly blue heels clicking across the floor.

Jim looks at the card in his hand, and he doesn't remember exactly when he took it from Leonard but it reads "Enterprise Burlesque Club.".

There's a time written underneath. 3 pm.

Jim's breath hitches and he looks around the club, at the warm lights and the dancers milling about and ordering drinks.

Then he thinks of his club, the unhappiness, the harassment and the unsafe environment.

He looks back down at the card.

3 pm. Tomorrow. 

He'll be there.

Jim Kirk steps back out into the cold and shivers, but he can feel a change in the December air already.


	2. Chapter 2

Jim's alarm wakes him up at noon.

It's only when he rolls over and tries to pull his thin, itchy blanket over his head does he remember that he doesn't have to go back to his club today.

Last night rushes back to him, a flurry of music, warmth, beauty and hazel eyes, and only then does the bleak mood that he usually wakes up with brighten considerably. 

He gets to go back to the Enterprise at 3pm today.

He has no idea what Pike wants, or why he's been told not to go back to work, but he'll be damned if he doesn't show up. The blond man shivers and sits up, wrapping his thin, ugly blanket around him, and looks around his tiny apartment. It's about the size of a shoe box, and he can't afford much furniture--he can barely afford food--and the space gives off the same depressing air that's followed him his entire life. 

This wasn't his intention.  He didn't mean for this to happen. He didn't run from his abusive stepfather and his absent mother to be a stripper, constantly being harassed and touched without his permission, who lives a tiny, dirty apartment and can barely afford food.

He took a few wrong turns somewhere. Hell, maybe he's just a failure. 

But he gets to go back to that magical place again.

If he didn't have the card in his hand as he fell asleep, he probably would have thought it was all just a dream. 

But it's real. The warmth was real, the outfits were real, the sound of jazz was real...

Leonard was real. Uhura was real. 

Jim Kirk lets out a happy little laugh--the first one in a really long time--and sets his alarm for 2pm.

He's sleeping in today.

~

Jim finds the club easily. 

And at 2:58 pm he finds himself standing at the steps that lead to the dip in the sidewalk where the Enterprise resides, the lights still on and blazing, though not many people seem to be inside.

At 2:59 pm he's walking down the steps, approaching the door and peering in the window.

He sees Uhura and the green skinned woman wandering around the space, the brown skinned woman wearing a purple corset and a matching feather bustle skirt. The green skinned woman is wearing the same outfit, but in a sunny yellow. There are a few customers milling about, drinking and chatting.

By 3:00 pm, Jim is inside, the warmth surrounding him again. He inhales and smiles.

Then he realizes that Pike is nowhere to be found, and he has no idea what to do.

Jim stands by the door awkwardly, until he works up the nerve to walk up to Uhura.

"Uh, excuse me." the blond says quietly, and his breath escapes him when the beautiful woman turns and looks at him curiously. She's even prettier up close, her winged eyeliner sharp and her brown skin smooth and clear of all blemishes. He chokes and sputters and she smiles warmly and says, "You're the new guy. Pike told me about you."

"Oh." Jim says dumbly. He feels like an idiot. He really doesn't belong here.

Uhura just smiles and makes a gesture for him to follow her.

The club is a lot more quiet than it was last night, and he catches sight of the curly haired young man and the Asian man sitting with a few men at a table in the corner, flirting and holding each other's hands.

Uhura leads him deeper into the club than he went last night, until he ends up following her backstage.

And Jim breath hitches because the backstage is even more comfortable than he could have imagined.

They walk past a long, open room, dainty white vanity tables lining each wall. Each table, Jim can see, is decorated with large, old school Hollywood lights. There is carpet on the floor, a hot pink, and feather boas and heels are lined along the walls, large closets with various sparkly and shiny outfits spilling out of them, and it's takes all the strength Jim has to keep following Uhura and not run into the room and poke around.

The hallway is just as beautiful, deep red walls with elegant painting lining them, and Jim gasps as it spills into a large hall, the empire ceiling rising high above him and chandelier hanging from it, the light glinting off of the crystals on it. A grand staircase sprawls in the center of the room, leading to the second floor.

Uhura makes a sharp turn and leads him through a door, her heels clacking on the floor and Jim's mouth hanging open as he observes his surroundings. The door leads to a plush room, red, fluffy couches lining the walls, a gold desk in the middle. As they near, Jim catches sight of Pike, and sees the Vulcan performer from last night sitting on one of the couches, wearing a matching outfit but in green. He gets up as Uhura approaches him, and he takes her hand. Uhura turns into him for a hug, and they're both so graceful that Jim can only stare before Uhura turns to him and catches his eye. 

"He's all yours." she smiles, pointing to Pike, who is sitting at the large desk, looking down at some papers and paying them no mind.

Jim nods and thanks her and watches as Uhura and her Vulcan walk out of the door. When the door slams, Pike looks up as Jim turns back to him.

"Ah, Kirk." Pike says, his voice echoing through the large room.

Jim walks forward, standing in front of his desk and fidgeting slightly.

"Don't be uncomfortable." Pike says, smiling at him, "Now, what size do you wear?"

Jim blinks, "Wh-what?"

"Well, we need clothes that will fit you."

"Clot-"

"Where did you work before this, Jim?"

Jim is silent for a second and he looks at the man looking up at him. He doesn't know what to say.

So he decides to tell the truth. The dirty, ugly truth.

"I was a str-"

"A performer?" Pike asks.

Jim pauses for a second before replying, "Uh, yeah."

"Great. You'll fit great here."

Jim's mind reels to a stop. What does that mean?

"Uh, I don't really understand-"

"You work here now." Pike says, easily.

"Doing what?" Jim says dumbly.

"Dancing, singing, mingling, serving drinks. The same thing every other employee here does."

Jim feels his eyes widen. He didn't know he would be offered a job here, he-

he didn't know what he expected. But it wasn't this. And if we was employed he didn't think it would be as a dancer. He figured he would be a janitor or something. A busboy. Cleaning the bathrooms or-

This is...better than he ever expected.

"I-I don't-" Jim stutters.

"Of course you won't be singing or dancing yet, you don't know the songs." Pike says, cutting him off, "But you can get dressed in the dressing room and mingle with the guests, have drinks with them. Just woo them until you're up on stage with the rest of them."

Jim stands there, his face red, and he knows he looks like an idiot, but he can't help it. He gets to _work_ here, and wear the outfits and be one of the beautiful people who he was envying just last night.

"Are you okay, son?" Pike asks, amusement in his eyes and he takes in Jim's shocked face.

The blond snaps out of it, and nods frantically, "Yeah, sorry. I just...didn't expect this. Thank you."

Pike sits back and takes a good look at him. Jim shifts in his too big sweater and his bruises, self consciousness making him drop his gaze to the floor.

"Don't worry about it. You look like you could use a change." the man says, before he turns back to his paperwork, "You can go change in the dressing room. Geoff is probably still in there, he can help you out. For tonight you can just chat with the customers, charm them. Just make sure they keep spending money."

It sounds like he's being dismissed.

"Oh-okay." Jim stutters, before he walks toward the door.

He's halfway out the office before he hears Pike's voice again, "Kid?"

"Yeah?" Jim says, turning around, his hand still on the handle.

"You'll be okay."

Jim feels himself go red, and something like hope blooms in his chest. He smiles, and walks back into the grand room with the chandelier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!!


	3. Chapter 3

Jim finds his way back to the dressing room on his own and with very little trouble.

He can hardly believe his luck, and about 3 days ago, he didn't even believe he had any luck. At all. 

Matter of fact, he was sure he didn't. But he guesses he was wrong.

 _'Very wrong'_ , he thinks as he walks down the glamorous hallway and makes the sharp turn into the dressing area. 

His breath catches again as he takes in the huge room, marred with pink, red and blues, furs and velvet-

"Who are you?" someone says, the voice startling Jim out of his happy haze. The blond spins around, and catches sight of a man with brown skin and bright blue eyes looking at him quizzically from the other side of the room. His corset and bustle is a poppy pink, the contrast of the color and his skin and eyes making him look even more beautiful. _'Everyone here is so pretty'_ , Jim thinks before he stutters his name.

The man grins.

"Oh!" he says, his voice soft and pleasant, but mischievous, " _You're_ Jim! Pike told me you were coming. I'm Geoffrey, but you can call me Geoff." he says, flouncing over to Jim and extending a pink, satin-gloved hand. Jim smiles and takes it, the shock wearing off.

Geoffrey grins, and Jim finds himself smiling too. The man's happy nature is contagious, and now Jim feels more excited than scared shitless.

"So I guess you need some clothes, huh?" he says, looking Jim up and down.

"Uh, yeah." the blond says, shifting under his gaze, self consciousness (and the knowledge that there are holes in his sweater) making him feel a little like a bug about to be squished.

"Don't be intimidated." Geoff says, with a wave of the hand, "I just needed to know what size you are." he quips, turning to a large closet and picking out some pieces, "I think I've got it..." he mumbles, "You're just a bit skinnier than Leonard and Spock....but not as small as Chekov so..." his voice trails off as he whirls around the room, picking up various corsets before he returns to Jim and hands them off. He fumbles but manages to hold them all as Geoff heads to another part of the room with a different closet and starts picking out more clothing. Jim watches him and is reminded of some sort of fairy. Dainty but quite a whirlwind. 

"These should fit you." he says smiling when he returns to Jim, clearly proud of himself.

"Thanks a lot." the blond says, overwhelmed but grateful and happy, and Geoff smiles.

Jim has the feeling that he just made a new friend.

~

20 minutes later and Jim Kirk is a sparkly yellow corset and bustle ensemble that makes him feel like a brand new person. Geoff pats himself on the back smugly as Jim twirls in the mirrors, his face portraying sheer happiness he hasn't felt for a really long time.

"I knew it! I knew you were a yellow kind of person! It matches your hair perfectly. I'm a genius." the brown skinned man says, clapping happily as he looks at Jim smile and admire his new outfit, "Now, for makeup!" he says happily, taking Jim by the arm and leading him to a vanity.

It's blue and has Geoff's name in sparkly lights at the top. Jim sits on the cushy chair, admiring the decoration while Geoff picks the makeup. The vanity has rows and rows of the stuff, and the blond is amazed that he can even find his way around it all. But surely enough, Geoff ends up holding several different bottles of concealer that seem the closest to Jim's skin color. The blond examines the vanity, the pictures, the paint job and the decoration and smiles. It's gorgeous.

"You like it?" Geoff asks happily, "I decorated it myself."

Jim smiles wide and runs his hand along all of the eyeshadow sets lined on the desk, "It's beautiful." he says, awe in his voice.

"You'll get one too." Geoff says, pulling up another chair and sitting next to Jim, "And you'll be able to decorate it how you want. But for now, let's cover those bruises."

Jim looks at himself in the mirror for the first time since he sat down, observing the purple and green bruises marring his face, "Wow, I forgot those were there." he mumbles, slightly embarrassed. Goeff stops when he hears his tone, smiling softly, a sheepish look crossing his face.

"I had bruises when I got here, too. A lot." He says, his voice wilting just a bit, "Don't worry. No more bruises from here on in.", the brown skinned man assures him as he compares different concealers against his skin, looking for the right match. Jim's heart warms as he looks at his new friend, and he smiles softly.

"You aren't going to ask how I got them?" he asks carefully.

"Why does it matter? I have a pretty good idea. And it's not worth you feeling uncomfortable. You don't ask about mine, I won't ask about yours." he answered softly, "It doesn't matter where you've been, Jim. You're with us now and everything is better here. You'll see."

"I believe you. Things are better already." the blond says.

Geoff smiles and picks up a makeup brush, "Now, you're very fair so we'll use this one. I'll show you how to properly apply your makeup tomorrow, and you can have this concealer because no one else uses it. You're the palest person I've seen in a while." he giggles. And as they continue to chat, Jim finds that it's remarkably _easy_ to talk to Geoff. They're cut from the same cloth.

Jim and laughs and closes his eyes as his makeup is applied. His heart feels like it's soaring.

~

Jim, makeup freshly applied and feeling better than he ever has, is lead into the main club area, arm in arm with Geoff. Clad in pink and yellow, they look out at the evening crowd and Jim feels a slight gnaw of anxiety.

"No need to be anxious," Geoff says, "Just be natural. Take a deep breath. Mingle. Mill about. You'll be fine. You'll do great, okay?"

"Sure but uh-" Jim says, eyeing the crowd. He has no idea how to do this. He's terrified. He feels his face pale and ugly thoughts of _'You don't belong here_ ' cross his mind, and Geoff gives him a concerned look.   
  
"Okay, how about this, I stay with you for tonight, just to make sure you don't pass out or something?" he says, a laugh in his voice.

"Yes please." Jim says a little too quickly, his face burning.

"No problem. Hikaru was a bit spooked too. Had to walk the floor with him for a whole week. Oh look!" he says, as he points to a table of three men in pinstripe suits waving them over with smiles.

~

The night wears on and Jim is having the time of his life. He sits on one man's lap, and his prior hesitation has been snuffed out seeing as he's a perfect gentleman and doesn't place his hands where they aren't wanted. It's foreign to him. He's used to having to fight to be treated halfway decent and now that he doesn't have to, now that he feels the unspoken respect that the customers have for him despite him being a worker here...he doesn't know how to process it.

Geoff sits opposite from him on the lap of another gentleman as they make idle conversation and jokes, the air warm and inviting. 

Halfway through the Jim feels like he's found his groove again. Like he's actually _good_ at this. And when the men go to get more drinks at the bar and they have a few moments to themselves, he gives Geoff his signature charming grin and asks, "So what's Leonard's story?"

His friend gives him a sly look and murmurs, "Ooh, interested in surly little Leo, huh?"

Jim smiles wide and blushes.

Geoff rolls his eyes and grins, "Okay I'll help you out but _only_ because you're my new favorite."

Jim gives him an exaggerated and flattered smile, batting his eyelashes and making kissy faces at the brunet across the table as Geoff flicks an olive from his drink at him as he laughs, "Cut it out blondie!"

Geoff smirks and says, "I'll tell you this, he's grumpy as all hell, but he has a heart of gold. He used to be a doctor."

The blond feels his eyes widen, "Ooh, a doctor, huh?" he says, until his eyes narrow and he murmurs, "....You think he's good with his hands?"

Geoff flicks another olive at him, "I am so done with you Jim Kirk." he laughs.

Jim dodges and smiles wide. 

It's really nice to have a friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!  
> Btw, I really hope they put Geoff in the reboot for the third movie! My version of him is based on the actor Michael Ealy, if anyone wants to see what he's supposed to look like :)  
> Anyway, I just wanted to give M'Benga some shine in this chapter because I feel like everyone forgets about him :(  
> Plus I wanted him and Jim to friends because this friendship is hardly ever present.  
> More of everyone else to come in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Jim gets $500 in tips that night. The gentleman he's been entertaining presses the bills into his hand with a respectful and shy smile before heading off, and Jim feels his eyes widen when he gets the time to count the bills in the dressing room as everyone troops in.

He made more in one night than he's made in a week at his old club. 

Jim has no idea what to make of this newfound luck, and he's still waiting for a catch, but as the other dancers troop in--their corsets colorful and their smiles wide--he's not so sure if there is one.

Uhura walks in and when she spots Kirk she smiles and walks over to him, winking as she pulls out a chair by the nearest vanity and steps on it, clapping her hands and claiming everyone's attention.

"Hey!" she calls, until they all settle down, stop what they're doing, and look toward her, "So this is Kirk," she says, pointing to Jim, and the blond shifts when all eyes turn to him, "he just got here today, so stop being all clique-y and introduce yourselves!" she demands with a smirk before she steps down and grins in his direction.

Jim sure his face is red as a beet, and Geoff nudges him cheekily before he sits down at his vanity and gets to work taking off his makeup.

The dressing room bustles with activity again, but this time people come up to him and give their names, the curly haired young man introducing himself as Chekov and his companion as Sulu. They shake his hand and ask some questions, looking at him curiously as he answers them and by the end of their short conversation, he learns a few things about them too. Like how Sulu enjoys fencing and caring for plants, and that Chekov is great with computers.

Uhura walks up to him hand in hand with the Vulcan next, who she introduces as Spock. The man is as stoic as when he first saw him, but Jim can see he's quite enamored with the brown--skinned woman. He talks in clipped sentences and his back is almost painfully straight as he stands, though he talks with a hint of smirk on his lips and seems to be funny, in a dry sort of way.

Next the green skinned woman nudges him and strikes up a conversation before she brings her girlfriend Carol over to say hello. Jim learns that if Gaila is a whirlwind, Carol is a steady breeze. They're perfect for each other, he finds.

Leonard walks up him then, his mouth in a frown before he sticks out a hand and simply says, "Mccoy."

Jim smiles flirtily at the other man, finally feeling more like himself enough to wink, take his hand and chirp, "Kirk."

Leonard's hazel eyes narrow before he says, "You need help takin' off your makeup?"

Jim flashes him a blinding smile before he answers, "Sure."

So Kirk ends up spending the next ten minutes in a chair at Mccoy's vanity while the man removes his concealer and eyeshadow.

"So what's your story?" Jim asks, relaxing and smirking as the man frowns and swipes at the blush on Jim's cheek.

"What?"

"Everyone else said something about themselves, but you just gave me your name." Jim says, brow furrowing.

"Not much to tell." Leonard says, continuing his work.

"Everyone has a story." Kirk chirps.

"Well," Leonard says, his face blank before he gets up and turns to walk toward the dressing stall, "you'll have to earn mine."

Jim smiles at the man's retreating back, "So that's a challenge then?" he calls.

McCoy turns, "Only if you're dumb enough to try." he says evenly, before he disappears in the stall, drawing the curtain.

Jim smiles wider, he is. He is dumb enough to try. 

"I'm in the mood for a drink." Sulu calls, slinging an arm around Chekov's shoulders, "We should go out."

"Yeah!" Gaila says, clapping happily and bouncing on her feet, "And we can officially initiate blondie here!"

It takes Jim about 5 entire seconds to realize that _he's_ 'blondie. 

"Ah, _initiation_." Uhura drawls, smiling at Kirk, "Yes! We haven't had a new member join us for a while, so we're a bit rusty but _yes_ , initiation!"

Jim feels his face brightening at the prospect of being included in well, anything.

"This should be fun." Carol says, wrapping an arm around Gaila's waist, "I could use a night out."

They all agree, and Jim is marveling at the speed at which they just...accept him into their group, as they all branch off and head to get undressed.

Jim bends down and looks at his makeup-less face in the mirror.

The bruises are already fading.

~

No one blinks twice at his worn sweater when he changes back into it.

And he's not surprised, because when he comes out of the changing stall, he's faced with the most unique cast of characters he's ever seen. Spock wears a long black dress that covers pretty much everything but his hands and face, Uhura wears a short, lacy one, paired with converses and a messy bun.  Chekov emerges in a t-shirt dress and boots, Sulu in trendy, newspaper printed pants and a crop top. Clearly he and Gaila coordinated it because she exits the stall in the same one, giving Sulu an enthusiastic high five, while Carol buttons her large white blouse she wears as a dress and laces up her purple combats boots. Geoff favors a blue sweater dress and yellow stockings, Leonard shows up in a tight black shirt and leather pants that makes Jim's eyes rove up and down his body when he's not looking.

"I heard somethin' about drinks?" Leonard says, "We goin' out?"

"Yep." Sulu answers, "Initiating Jim."

Leonard smirks and looks at the blond, "Oh _really?_ "

Jim only realizes that he's been standing there wide eyed for the past few minutes when Gaila trots up to him and puts and arms around his shoulders, steering him towards the group, "Okay, so," she starts, "a few things."

Jim blinks at her expectantly.

"We're all super close, so you better get used to all of us being all up in your business." she winks, "We look after each other, and now that includes you. Another thing, initiation is going to loosen you up real fast, blondie. We'll all be the best of friends in no time. And we all live together in a loft not too far from here and I'm going to drag you to live with us no matter what, just saying." 

"Jesus Gaila, don't scare him." Leonard mumbles, leaving on the wall, next to Geoff.

"I'm not!" Gaila protests, pouting, "I'm just being honest!" 

Jim can't help the smile that spreads over his face because he already really likes this group of people, and honestly...he's never really had a group of people so close and eager to get to know him before. It's a nice change. And the fact that they like him enough to want him to live with them?

He doesn't know what to say. 

"It's fine." Jim grins, "I'm looking forward to it." 

Understatement.

Leonard raises an eyebrow, "You say that now, until Uhura is mother-henning you." 

"Hey!" Uhura says, feigning offense and throwing McCoy a faux annoyed look.

Chekov giggles. 

Jim looks on in amusement as Leonard and Uhura have a nonverbal conversation via fake glares.

"Anyway." Geoff says, rolling his eyes and looking at Jim, "I think the _point_ of what Gaila is trying to say is that we're all family and you're pretty much a part of that whether you like it or not." 

Jim's never really had a proper family before. Ever. He feels his face heating up with some sort of emotion he can't pinpoint--

"I...I'd like that." he stutters, eyes wide.

Geoff beams, "Oh, _good_." 

"Let's go." Sulu says, grabbing Chekov's hand, "I'm really looking forward to a margarita."

Carol throws her hands in the air, smiles and chirps, "Me too. Let's go."  

Jim ends up trooping out of the Enterprise with the rest of the, squeezed between Geoff and Gaila, happier and more hopeful than he's been in a while. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good God this took ages I'm so sorry.


End file.
